FY2025 EPS Estimates for Southern Reduced by Zacks Research

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $4.21 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $4.22. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $1.13 EPS.

SO has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.92.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $91.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.50 and a 200-day moving average of $91.17. Southern has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after buying an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Southern by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.